Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2378316, member: 19463&quot;]My new coin is not new to you because its previous owner posted it here before we traded.&nbsp; I hope he is happy with the denarius and two bronzes he got.&nbsp; Why I wanted this coins is the sort of thing that makes my collection different than most and I encourage you to find coins that fit your collecting personality as well.&nbsp; I am not as impressed by grade as by interesting footnotes.&nbsp; This coin is not bad condition but its polished surfaces make photography difficult.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]487281[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Licinius I Cyzicus mint (SMK) AE2 RIC 6 (vol. VII page 644) officina 3 (III), 316-317 AD</p><p><br /></p><p>What made me want this coin is not what it is but what it is not but could have been.&nbsp; This issue was done in the name of Constantine and Licinius with Constantine&#039;s coins being more rare (yes I want one).&nbsp; The issue also included rare coins in the name of Valerius Valens (not the guy from RIC vol. IX) who Licinius appointed co-Augustus when he was fighting ith Constantine and had executed when they made peace.&nbsp; Constantine would have executed Licinius and saved himself going through all this again but for the fact that Licinius was married to Constantine&#039;s half sister who interceded on her husband&#039;s behalf.&nbsp; Her coins, like those of Valens, are extremely rare but I do find interest in that Raz pointed out correctly in ERIC I that they were active in the region then producing many new finds so it would be quite possible for a bagful to be found.&nbsp; Keep looking guys. </p><p><br /></p><p>This issue is of interest to me not because it was Licinius (I have other coins of his) but because it was made at a time the mint was working on making the rare coins of Valens which I will never own.&nbsp; Because of the bad blood between them, coins of this issue of Constantine are also much more rare but I might get one of those by accident because almost no one cares about detail of his issues (or, even less, Licinius&#039;).&nbsp; Most dealers would figure out that they had a coin of Valens so an accidental find there is less likely.&nbsp; Looking at photos of the three, I&#039;d say the same portrait was used for all three.&nbsp; This probably means (my guess) that the cutter at Cyzicus had no idea what the out of town guys looked like and used the Licinius portrait on all three.&nbsp; This issue is also odd in the mintmark is SKM rather than the expected SMK (Sacred Money Kyzikos).&nbsp; This is not an error since all the dies of the issue use this spelling.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I like coins of Constantine struck at mints controlled by Licinius or any other &#039;evidence&#039; of the wars between them.&nbsp; This coin is not one but simply the Licinius struck when the rare ones were being made by the other shops in the mint.&nbsp; After Valens died, Constantine and Licinius solved the question of succession question by appointing their sons as Caesar.&nbsp; Constantine has an able, older boy name Crispus.&nbsp; Licinius II was very young and hardly a danger not to mention being Constantine&#039;s sister&#039;s son.&nbsp; Constantine also got a bonus pick of his young son Contantine II.&nbsp; Winning the war put him in a good place to dictate terms.&nbsp; Because Licinius II was no help in war, the next time Licinius I got frisky he appointed a co-Augustus named Martinian who really should have known what happened to Valens would happen to him.&nbsp; It did and his coins are rare as well so I don&#039;t have one either. </p><p><br /></p><p>Feel free to post your coins of Valens (the RIC VII one), Constantia or Martinian.&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie11" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />&nbsp; ...or whatever you will.&nbsp; This would also be a good place to post any coin you have from an issue that also produced coins for the rare ones.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in